Which Manfrotto tripod please?

I have my eyes on the Manfrotto be free, then someone suggested a X-pro B 190. I', a bit confused now, so which is the best one to go for? I will be taking it around a lot, obviously the travel be free, but which is the better tripod?

I have a Hama at the moment which is OK, but one of the legs keeps coming loose which is a pain.

You could say that since both are made by Manfrotto they will be of equal quality, so it really comes down to what you need.

Quite a number of people here on the Forum use Redsnapper. Could be worth a look?

link

Best to go and check some out if possible. I spent a long time at SRS and went for a carbon fibre one (190cxpro3) in the end as the best for my needs and I am delighted with it.
Good view of this one , and Manfrotto range generally, here - http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Manfrotto_190CXPRO3_tripod/

Is Redsnapper better then Manfrotto?

Not sure how to define " better". Much will come down to price and what you need. Manfrotto are very good and have an established reputation. They also make some excellent heads. In general terms carbon is more rigid and lighter than aluminium and there will be trade off between weight and stability. I wanted a general purpose tripod that was light enough for me to carry around for a bit (short bits!). I have not owned a Redsnapper so cannot comment. Many forum members seem to rate them, no doubt someone will give a view.

I had an aluminium 190 for a while and really rated it. Tough and reliable, nothing went wrong. Only got rid when I found a carbon fibre Giottos at a price to good to miss. I still use a small Manfrotto ball head on the Giottos. Choice of head is equally important as choice of tripod. Ball heads with QR plates work best for me, your mileage may vary...

Paul

Giotto is very tempting but I like Manfrotto coz you can adjust the height without letting go of the camera apparently.

I have a Manfrotto 055PROB with a 460MG head which I use as my main tripod. Also, at extra cost, I added a carry strap, spiked feet and a bag. It has given several years of excellent service and I am very happy with it. It is though big and heavy. It is fine for studio work and lugging around in the car to events.

However recently I decided I needed a tripod that I could easily carry around for walking and on my bicycle so I had a hunt around. I found that what are commonly called "Travel Tripods" often have restrictions on their maximum height and the maximum weight of the camera plus lens. Many of them are little more that table-top tripods aimed at compact cameras.

I also particularly wanted something with a small minimum height, like the 055PROB, for shooting flowers.

After a lot of research I bought a Red Snapper RSF-284 (full details here) with a RSH-61 ball head:

RSF-284
Max. height - 1550mm (column extended)
Max. height - 1260mm (column not extended)
Min. height - 340mm
Min. height Short column - 145mm
Min. height(column reversed)- 0mm
Folded length 460mm
Tube dia. - 28mm
Weight - 1600g
Max Load - 8kg
Retractable spiked feet

RSH-61 ball head:
Ball Size 25mm
Height 75mm
Barrel Dia 34mm
Weight 268gms
Max. Load 5kg

Which I think compares very well with the Manfrotto Befree.

The Red Snapper also comes complete with a bag that is easy to sling over a shoulder being just over 50cm long & 13cm x 12cm in cross-section. At £89.95 it was nearly half the manufacturer's listed price of the Befree and £30 cheaper than Amazon's current Befree price.

I have had to get used to using the ball head, which needs a little care, but the only real downside is that I now have to manage two different types of quick-release plate.

I hope this helps,

Glyn

Thanks, not sure if the Manfrotto does come with a bag, is there a built in spirit level?

No the Red Snapper does not have a spirit level. I carry , but hardly ever use, a little two-way spirit level that you slide into the camera's hot shoe which has the advantage that it can be used with the camera in either a landscape or a portrait configuration.

My 055PROB main tripod does have a little bubble spirit level as does the 460MG head. However for the head it only works using the camera in a horizontal, landscape, configuration so even then I might revert to the hot-shoe level when using the head in a vertcal, portarait, configuration.

Glyn

Probably end up getting a hotshoe with a spirit level in.